Four Grapplers Head to Prestigous Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30

Particulars
After a three week lay-off, members of the Harvard wrestling team will return to the mat Dec. 29 and 30 at the 48th Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern. Midlands – a national invitational tournament/open event for outstanding college teams, clubs and individuals - is a premier wrestling tradition, attracting 350 of the country's best wrestlers.

The Competition
Wrestlers from 32 different colleges and universities as well as members of the national team and other wrestling clubs throughout the country will take part in the Midlands Championships.

Four Crimson grapplers will suit up for Harvard in Evanston, Ill.; Steven Keith (125), Corey Jantzen (149), Walter Peppelman (157) and Cameron Croy (184). Jantzen and Peppelman were named as top contenders last week with Jantzen holding third at 149 and Peppelman fifth at 157. Seeds and brackets will be announced later in the week.

Harvard has had at least one place winner in the last seven Midlands Championships.

Last Time Out
Two Harvard wrestlers stood on the podium at the 29th Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Junior Corey Jantzen finished second at 149 pounds while unranked Walter Peppelman placed fourth at 157 pounds knocking off several ranked opponents during his run.

The Crimson played 17th overall as Cameron Croy posted a 3-2 mark at 184 pounds, Steven Keith went 2-2 at 125 pounds, Shay Warren (133), Adam Hogue (165) and Ian Roy (174) each had a win at the tournament.

The Last Time We Were Here
Louis Caputo '10 finished fifth in the 184 pound weight class at the 47th Midland Championship last December to give the Crimson a 24th-place showing in the team standings. Steven Keith, Anthony Buxton, Paul Ligouri, Adam Hogue and Bryan Panzano made the trip to Evanston, Ill., last season as well.

Talk About Offense
Walter Peppelman leads the team with 12 wins this season. He has scored bonus points in eight of those 12 wins, including four wins by major decision, one my technical fall and four by fall.

Corey Jantzen, who is second on the team in wins with 10, has three wins by fall, two technical falls and three major decisions for eight victories with bonus points.

Free Fallin'
Corey Jantzen and Walter Peppelman each have three wins by fall this season. Jantzen has 10 collegiate pins, while Peppelman has picked up 11 so far. Overall the Crimson has eight wins by fall on the year.

Breakout Tournament
Walter Peppelman finished fourth in the 157 pound weight class at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas invitational. The sophomore co-captain knocked off four nationally ranked wrestlers to finish seven spots above his 11 seed. Peppelman went 6-2 in the tournament with two falls and four decisions. His pin of UNC-Greensboro's Jonathan Rodebaugh in 1:29 is especially noteworthy as Peppelman would have won by technical fall if he had not secured the pin. Having knocked off the No. 4, No. 6, No. 12 and No. 16 grapplers in the nation this weekend, the Harrisburg, Pa., native appeared in the top 15 in the nation rankings for the first time in his collegiate career.

National Rankings
Corey Jantzen and Walter Peppelman are ranked in several of this week's national polls.

AWN Intermat WR D1CW
Jantzen 8 8 9 9
Peppelman 8 12 10 11

Community Outreach
The Crimson is doing its share of community service each year. Jackson Salovarra '11 organized an event where Harvard went to church near campus to help weatherize the church rectory. The Crimson spent all day insulating and closing the house up for the winter which in turn will save the rectory thousands of dollars in the long run. This is just a small sample of how this program gives back to the community!

Pack the MAC
Harvard will host six dual meets the Malkin Athletic Center this winter on four different days. The Crimson's first home contest will be Jan.7 against Rutgers and Maryland. Harvard returns to Cambridge five weeks later to take on Brown and Hofstra (Feb. 12), followed by Columbia (Feb. 18) and Cornell (Feb. 19) to close out the dual season.

On the Horizon
Harvard turns its attention to the dual portion of the season with 14 matches scheduled throughout January and February. The Crimson hosts Rutgers and Maryland to kick things off Jan. 7. Harvard ventures out on the road the next eight matches before closing out the season at the MAC.